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Netflix codes/Travel Adapter/Real China

2025-03-09 15:01:49

Visiting the real China

China is vast, nearly a continent to itself with highly diverse ethnic cultures. It has become an easy place to travel, with 28,000 miles (45,000 km) of high speed trains, and cheap domestic flights. My guide to traveling to the most interesting places in China is an English-speaking YouTuber, Yan, who calls herself Little Chinese Everywhere. Yan records her explorations of her own country, usually to offbeat, little-visited places, far from crowds, but extremely enjoyable. She specializes in the border areas of China where it mixes minority cultures (Tibetan, Mongolian, Uyghur, Vietnamese, etc.). Her channel is perfect armchair travel because she captures a very unromantic view of China, taking buses, renting motor scooter, staying at expensive hostels, interviewing shop keepers. This is the real China, and if you wanted to get a sense of what the everyday country is like, watch her channel. Better yet, visit it. — KK

Psychedelic readiness preparedness

If you’re considering psychedelic therapy, I recommend starting with Althea’s Psychedelic Preparedness Scale, a three-minute quiz that helps assess your readiness by evaluating mental health stability, intentions, knowledge, support systems, and coping skills. Developed in a clinical trial at University College London, the quiz identifies areas needing improvement to ensure a safer and more meaningful experience. Althea, a Public Benefit Corporation based in Oregon and Colorado, connects individuals with licensed facilitators for legal psychedelic therapy, aiming to make these transformative experiences more accessible and stigma-free. — CD

European word explorer

This web tool instantly shows how a word translates across about 30 European languages, displayed on a color-coded map. Type in English words like "cat" or "thank you" and the translations appear in their geographic locations. The color codes show linguistic families like Romance and Slavic languages. Proszę bardzo! — MF

Netflix codes

I’m often very unimpressed with my Netflix algorithm, but these Netflix Codes have helped me discover new and surprising content. It’s useful, if you can overlook all the unsightly ads. — CD

Nuclear bomb rockets

One of the crazier projects funded by the US government was a plan in 1957 to build a 4,000-ton spaceship powered by exploding nuclear bombs. A small group of scientists aimed to reach Mars by 1965 in Project Orion, long before the dream of NASA’s Apollo. One of those working on the project was physicist Freeman Dyson. His son George Dyson interviewed his father and all remaining participants, and got thousands of declassified documents to tell the whole astounding story in a remarkable book, Project Orion. Published to little fanfare in 2002, Dyson has re-released a self-published expanded version (2025) with new material, new documents and illustrations, full citations of his sources, all material that the original publisher excluded. This strange story has lessons for attempting (and funding) hairy, audacious seemingly impossible projects. It’s great historical storytelling, too. – KK

Universal travel adapter with USB charging

The compact EPICKA Universal Travel Adapter has 5 USB ports (3 USB-C, 2 USB-A) and plug configurations for US/EU/UK/AUS. Its LED power indicator lets you know it's working. Just remember it's not a voltage converter — your devices need to be dual-voltage compatible. — MF


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Recomendo is published by Cool Tools Lab, a small company of three people. We also run the Cool Tools website, a YouTube channel and podcast, and other newsletters, including Gar’s Tips & Tools, Nomadico, What’s in my NOW?, Tools for Possibilities, Books That Belong On Paper and Book Freak.

Whisk/Burning Man/Bracket City

2025-03-02 10:00:57

Cool Tools Omnilist

I created a searchable archive of every product we've recommended in Recomendo and our other newsletters since 2020. The database includes thousands of items (with photos) that you can filter by category, date, or keyword. Want to see all the knives we've reviewed? Just type "knife" in the search field. This makes it easy to browse our entire review history or find specific recommendations. The site is ready to explore, though I'm open to suggestions for improvements. — MF

Imagery playground

I still regularly create AI imagery of my dreams using Midjourney, and I recently discovered Whisk, a Google lab tool for blending different visual elements into something entirely new. I just drag and drop the images, and I’m able to merge styles, subjects, and scenes. I can provide some visual guidance with text, but you don’t need to be an expert at writing prompts to have fun with it. It feels like a playground for creative visualization. — CD

Unforgettable experience

Like the Grand Canyon, or the Pyramids, I believe Burning Man is something you should experience at least once in your life, no matter who you are. This year is a good time to go, because it is no longer cool and you can easily get tickets. It is still a spectacle of art and creativity, a wonder of urban design, a singular example of a miraculous gift economy, and the best bicycle city on Earth. The cliches about it are all true, yet it will astonish you. I will make this guarantee: If you have never been to Burning Man, and you go this year and are bored, I will personally refund your ticket price. The festival erupts north of Reno, Nevada from August 24 to September 1, 2025 and the easiest way to attend it is in an RV. — KK

Clever Word Game: Bracket City

I discovered a delightful five-minute word puzzle game called Bracket City. The gameplay is simple — you just start typing words to solve crossword-like clues in brackets that are nested within other clues. What makes it addictive is how the clues build on each other, with each solution revealing new parts of connected puzzles. Here's the tutorial example: [where [opposite of clean] dishes pile up] or [exercise in a [game played with a cue ball]]. You can peek at the first letter of any clue if you're stuck. I’ll bet the NY Times will end up buying it. — MF

Top-rated things to do

Things.in is useful for creating a travel guide and a curated list of the top sights, restaurants, and places to stay in a city. I’m currently planning a trip to London and feeling overwhelmed by all the history and important sights to see. This tool is helpful in narrowing down my itinerary. — CD

Electrician’s magic wand

I noticed several professional electricians using this thing: The Klein Non-Contact Voltage Tester is a small magic wand that beeps when it detects a live current in a wire, or a switch or a cable or anything electronic. The cool thing is that you don’t need to bare the wire or contact, you just wave this near the wire. That is both much safer and way quicker. It can detect voltages between 12 and 1,000 which will be enough for most uses. For me it has replaced several devices in my toolbox I used to use to detect a live current. — KK


Recomendo is an authentic, hand-crafted, human-written weekly newsletter that is free, but not cheap. Consider supporting our work with a paid option, now at the low price of $45 per year. Paid subs enable us to keep making it free for others. Recomendo is published by Cool Tools Lab, a small company of three people. We also run the Cool Tools website, a YouTube channel and podcast, and other newsletters, including Gar’s Tips & Tools, Nomadico, What’s in my NOW?, Tools for Possibilities, Books That Belong On Paper and Book Freak.

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Retro Recomendo: Fun things

2025-02-23 18:00:59

Our subscriber base has grown so much since we first started eight years ago, that most of you have missed all our earliest recommendations. The best of these are still valid and useful, so we’re trying out something new — Retro Recomendo. Once every 6 weeks, we’ll send out a throwback issue of evergreen recommendations focused on one theme from the past 8 years.


Anti-boredom

I always carry a deck of cards. Not to play card games, but to practice sleight of hand. It’s easy to have a conversation and practice moves at the same time, and it prevents me from fidgeting. This 4 DVD set, The Royal Road to Card Magic is a bargain at $15, and a great way to get started. — MF

Geography quiz game

I thoroughly enjoy playing this geographical guessing game “City Guesser” — probably because I am good at it. To play online you are shown a first-person view of walking through a city and you have to guess what city in the world you are in. You get points depending on how close you are and how fast you recognize the place. You can play against yourself, or other players, and you can narrow the scope. I’m great in Asia and no good in Africa. The game also works as a virtual vacation because inhabiting someone else’s walk is weirdly comforting. There is a related game, “GeoGuessr”, that plops you into a random place on Google Street View, usually not in the city. Here you can look around in all directions on your own “walk” and control your speed and path. (The free version requires signup.) Some people take this challenge very seriously and there are YouTube channels that follow some of the master navigators, like the champ GeoWizard. The lightning speed of his detective work is unbelievable, and as entertaining as magic. — KK

So many paper airplane designs

I was happy to come across this repository of paper airplane designs on Foldnfly.com. I didn’t know so many possibilities existed! We had a fun family tournament in the backyard this weekend. There seems to be quick, video tutorials for all of the designs. — CD

Deep YouTube

My daughter told me about Astronaut.io. It’s a website that plays a few seconds of random YouTube videos with almost no views — like this video of a cafe in Vietnam with 1 view, and this one of goats eating weeds near a freeway in rural Japan with 0 views. After a few seconds, it starts playing another video. It’s addictive. Many of the videos aren’t in English, which is a plus for me. — MF

Feel connected to the Universe

This helped me get out of my headspace for a bit: NASA’s What Did Hubble See on Your Birthday? I entered all the important dates I could think of and went down a Wikipedia wormhole to learn more about the Sombrero Galaxy and light echos. Every image is awesome and uplifting and teleports me out of my mental space to somewhere else. — CD

Puzzle source

The go-to source for physical puzzles is Puzzle Masters in Canada. They have everything, including lots of Japanese puzzles: Puzzle boxes, puzzle locks, jig saw puzzles, rubik’s cubes of all varieties, magic puzzles, toys, collectible puzzles, all very high quality. — KK


Recomendo is an authentic, hand-crafted, human-written weekly newsletter that is free, but not cheap. Consider supporting our work with a paid option, now at the low price of $45 per year. Paid subs enable us to keep making it free for others. Recomendo is published by Cool Tools Lab, a small company of three people. We also run the Cool Tools website, a YouTube channel and podcast, and other newsletters, including Gar’s Tips & Tools, Nomadico, What’s in my NOW?, Tools for Possibilities, Just 1 Question, Books That Belong On Paper and Book Freak.

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50 Years of Travel Tips/Women-written recs/LibriVox

2025-02-16 18:02:02

My best travel tips

I took everything I have learned from a half century of serious travel and put all my travel tips into one document for easy reading and sharing. Let me know what I missed in 50 Years of Travel Tips. — KK

Women-written recs

I enjoy discovering and subscribing to new recommendation newsletters, especially those written by women. Here’s a list of what’s currently in my inbox. — CD

  • What I Loved This Week by technology worker Sarah H., a newsletter featuring book and entertainment recommendations, along with curated links and rabbit holes.

  • A thing or two with Claire and Erica, which delivers the 10 finds they’re most excited about—from recipes to books to beauty products—that are destined to make your Mondays better.

  • The iivy by Kelsey Wheeler, a weekly newsletter supporting a community of women who share the best tips, products, routines, and advice to help you become the best version of yourself.

  • Sam’s Seven, a weekly list of 7 things that art director and stylist Sam Kidd Shelton is eyeing, buying, reading, and recommending.

Best free audiobook resource: LibriVox

LibriVox.org is an amazing resource offering 40 thousand free public domain audiobooks read by volunteers. The audio quality and reader performance varies but is usually quite good. Some classics, like Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, have multiple versions to choose from, so listen to short snippets and choose your favorite. The LibriVox app makes it easy to download and listen on your phone. All recordings are public domain, so you can freely share and remix them. The volunteer-powered nature of the project means it keeps growing, with new audiobooks added regularly. I recommend Wired Love — an 1879 novel about telegraph operators falling in love before they meet that feels surprisingly modern in the age of texting and online dating. — MF

Best can opener

Over the years we have accumulated a variety of can openers. The one we always reach for is the Oxo Good Grip Smooth Edge Can Opener. It has a fat easy-to-grasp handle. It is one of those can openers that slices off the top of the lid from the outside, rather than from inside of the top of the lid. This way when you lift the lid off, there are no sharp edges. It is also the easiest can opener to use, taking the least effort to spin. However, it is now hard to find because Oxo discontinued it. The Kuhn Rikon Safety Can Opener is a decent alternative with a similar approach. It is not quite as ergonomic, but still better than the traditional style. — KK

Practices for deep curiosity

This article offers advice on "How to see the humanity in anyone" by replacing certainty about what we think we know about other people with curiosity about what we don’t yet know. The author, Scott Shigeoka, suggests using techniques like individuating people by focusing on their unique preferences rather than group identities, which he calls the “Garden Salad” effect. I found that the most crucial advice for cultivating deep curiosity is to value the dignity of every person, which simply means acknowledging their inherent worth and choosing connection over judgment. Definitely worth a read, but if you prefer video, here’s a link to his TED talk: "Can curiosity heal division?" — CD

Art detective in your photo app

I was in Segovia, Spain recently and used my iPhone to take a photo of a painting at the cathedral that interested me. There was no signage next to the painting. Later, when browsing through my shots, I noticed an unfamiliar option when I tapped the "info" button — "Look Up Artwork." One tap and I had the painting's name, artist, date, current location, and link to Wikipedia. This feature works retroactively on all art photos in my library. — MF


Recomendo is an authentic, hand-crafted, human-written weekly newsletter that is free, but not cheap. Consider supporting our work with a paid option, now at the low price of $45 per year. Paid subs enable us to keep making it free for others. Recomendo is published by Cool Tools Lab, a small company of three people. We also run the Cool Tools website, a YouTube channel and podcast, and other newsletters, including Gar’s Tips & Tools, Nomadico, What’s in my NOW?, Tools for Possibilities, Books That Belong On Paper and Book Freak.

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33 life tips/Secret Museum of Mankind/Small egg cooker

2025-02-09 18:01:51

33 life tips, Japanese style

A friend shared this guide of bite-sized tips that blend Japanese cultural wisdom and practical life hacks. Examples:

  • Always follow the rules: Japan loves rules. Suffocating? Yes, but it makes the machine run smoothly. “People love to follow rules here,” Tokyo-based producer Kaori Oyama says. “It can be tiring, but at the same time it means that generally you know what to expect.”

  • Enjoy the silence: Tokyo might be home to nearly 14 million people, but apart from the jingles you’ll hear at the train stations and in the convenience stores, it can be surprisingly quiet. “Very few people speak on the trains,” says Mr Paul McInnes, senior editor of Tokyo Weekender magazine, who has lived in the city since 2000. “It’s a wonderful way to have some quiet space and think about your day.”

— MF

Photos of a bygone world

The strangest book I own is the Secret Museum of Mankind. It is a thick book of a thousand grainy black and white photos of tribal people taken over a hundred years ago. The fuzzy photos show costumes and dress, strange tattoos and scarifications, topless women, bizarre religious rituals, cruel punishments, and esoteric practices of cults. The book has no author, no credits, no copyrights, no page numbers, and has the appearance of being reproduced many times without permission. There’s no text in the book except for short unreliable captions that are dated and full of prejudices of that time. I keep coming back to the photos which capture worlds long gone. Despite its titillating gaze, you can see the texture of everyday life for most people with unvarnished realism in a world before electricity, coal, and manufacturing—all revealed with a directness I have not seen published elsewhere. The book is most useful to anyone interested in clothes and fashion as every bit of clothing here was handmade and custom. While used copies are not hard to find, a good digital version has been scanned by Ian Macky, with added index and image grid, and is free here. — KK

Small egg boiler

The Dash Rapid Egg Cooker ($19) is incredibly easy to use and allows me to make anywhere from 1 to 6 hard-boiled eggs at a time. I often crave hard-boiled eggs in the moment, when I don’t have the time to boil them on the stove and then let them sit, so I appreciate how fast and convenient it is. Plus, it's lightweight and compact, making it easy to store in my cupboard alongside other kitchen tools without taking up too much space. — CD

Useful kitchen tips

This short wordless video features a dozen or so kitchen tips, all new to me. Most of them are practical. I've already tried the lettuce-chopping technique and I'm not going back to the way I used to do it. — MF

Maximize your vacation days

This web tool will help you stretch your time off by identifying all the government holidays in your country and highlighting the best weeks in the year to schedule your vacation. — CD

Dozen memorable quotes

Each of these short quips contain bookfulls of wisdom. — KK

  • The world is a museum of other people’s passion projects. — John Collison

  • If you are like most people, then like most people, you don't know you're like most people. ― Daniel Gilbert

  • I oscillate between thinking I am crazy, and thinking I am not crazy enough. — Joyce Carol Oates

  • The cause of death is birth. — David Hockney

  • When dreaming, imagine success. When preparing, imagine failure. — James Clear

  • Today is the worst AI will ever be. — Alex Irpan

  • We are never definitely right; we can only be sure we are definitely wrong. — Richard Feynman

  • The things you do badly are as much part of your style as the things you do well. — Martin Scorsese

  • Self employment is a never-ending contest between the world’s worst manager and the world’s laziest employee. — Daniel Akst

  • If you want new ideas, read old books. — Shane Parrish

  • I’m thinking of Leonard Nimoy’s spiritual journey from writing I Am Not Spock (1975) to writing I Am Spock (1995). This is a journey we all must make. — Tim Kreider

  • This present moment was once the unimaginable future — Stewart Brand


Recomendo is an authentic, hand-crafted, human-written weekly newsletter that is free, but not cheap. Consider supporting our work with a paid option, now at the low price of $45 per year. Paid subs enable us to keep making it free for others. Recomendo is published by Cool Tools Lab, a small company of three people. We also run the Cool Tools website, a YouTube channel and podcast, and other newsletters, including Gar’s Tips & Tools, Nomadico, What’s in my NOW?, Tools for Possibilities, Books That Belong On Paper and Book Freak.

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Oversized winter scarf/Shogun/I Don't Have Spotify

2025-02-02 18:01:10

Oversized winter scarf

I sent this UGG oversize sherpa scarf to a friend in the Rocky Mountains, and their enthusiastic response convinced me it was the perfect gift. The dimensions (77" L x 11" W - think wearable blanket) proved ideal for high-altitude living, where temperatures swing dramatically throughout the day. What makes it special besides the size is the material—it's exceptionally plush and warm without being heavy or bulky. — MF

Japan historical series

The series Shogun streaming on Hulu/Disney+ deserves the many awards it won for great entertainment. It’s one version of a Japanese “game of thrones” What really captivated me was the impeccable historical realism and sense of immersion into ancient Edo period Japan. For instance, the show climaxes with poetry competitions. It is loosely based on historical people and events. The cast is Japanese speaking Japanese with English subtitles. The first season has 10 episodes with two more seasons in development. Well done! — KK

Convert music streaming song links

I Don't Have Spotify is a simple tool that quickly converts song links from Spotify, YouTube Music, Apple Music, Deezer, or SoundCloud to another preferred streaming service. This is particularly useful for sharing music with friends who have strong preferences against certain platforms. — CD

Old time radio stories

One of the best American storytellers of all time was the radio host Jean Shepherd who appeared on a New York City AM station (WOR) for 3 decades, during the 1950s, 60s and 70s. Every weekday night he did a humorist monologue of stories from his boyhood in a steel-mill town, rants about city life, and tall tales about everyday life – and nothing was pre-scripted! A tireless raconteur, Shep wrote the classic movie Christmas Story, about a kid getting a BB gun for Christmas. Many of his shows were taped over the static airways by listeners, and about 500 are now available online at The Jean Shepherd Show archive. Jerry Seinfeld claims he learned how to do his comedy about little things listening to Jean Shepherd stories. — KK

Follow a water drop’s path

River Runner is a website that lets you track a virtual raindrop's journey from any point on Earth to its final destination in the ocean. The 3D visualization is fluid, showing your water droplet flowing through rivers and streams, based on real geographic data. I spent too much time dropping rain on mountaintops and watching it wind through valleys all the way to the ocean. It's especially spectacular when starting from places like Yellowstone National Park, where you can watch the dramatic elevation changes unfold. It’s a perfect companion to John McPhee’s Basin and Range. — MF

50 ideas for building a better life

This collection of advice is compiled as the most powerful life hacks, and while I’ve heard a lot of it before, reading it all together is particularly impactful. It serves as a great reminder of the building blocks that make a life well lived. Here are my top five favorites from the longer list:

  • If you’re about to take an emotion-induced action, wait 24 hours. Many relationships have been broken by actions taken in the heat of the moment. Don't fall into the trap.

  • Never avoid hard conversations. When you avoid a hard conversation, you're taking on a debt that has to be repaid with interest at a date in the future…

  • Make a rule to never think twice about investments in yourself. Books, quality food, fitness, and personal development all fit into this bucket. These investments pay dividends for a long time. Think about material purchases instead—wait 24 hours to complete an order to see if you still want it.

  • When someone is going through hell, just saying “I’m with you” is the most powerful thing you can do. Advice, perspectives, or offers to help are minimally impactful. The notion that someone is with you is 10x more powerful. Be the “darkest hour friend” to those you love.

  • John D. Rockefeller would take regular breaks from his notoriously demanding schedule to mill about in his garden—it was his personal escape. Find your "garden" and go there often. Practice stillness, flex the solitude muscle. Be bored for at least 15 minutes per day. It’s an unlock for creativity and mindfulness.

— CD


Recomendo is an authentic, hand-crafted, human-written weekly newsletter that is free, but not cheap. Consider supporting our work with a paid option, now at the low price of $45 per year. Paid subs enable us to keep making it free for others. Recomendo is published by Cool Tools Lab, a small company of three people. We also run the Cool Tools website, a YouTube channel and podcast, and other newsletters, including Gar’s Tips & Tools, Nomadico, What’s in my NOW?, Tools for Possibilities, Books That Belong On Paper and Book Freak.

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